C'est La Vie
by AdenaMentzel
Summary: Maddison. Addie is in LA, and discovers something. leave input, please.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Might make this a chapter fic. Please leave input and R&R

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Of course the stick was blue.

Just because it was sunnier in LA, and she was far, far away from the man that she was trying to escape didn't mean that it was working.

Thirty five days ago, in a moment of weakness she had used Mark as a booty call. She had needed him, and there he was, just like always. Then she had panicked, knowing full well that Mark Sloan could very well break her heart, and she couldn't handle that. So she put the sixty days in place, then further protected herself by pushing him away-- telling Callie that she didn't want him, knowing full well that Ava could hear her. Screwing Karev when she knew it was likely he would find out.

She hadn't expected his maturity when he told her that she didn't want him. He had gracefully walked away, not pushing her because of selfish motives. He had even lied to protect her from her own self-loathing. He had walked away because she had broken him.

And now the stick was blue.

Granted, by now she knew that she was pregnant, but she had wanted something tangible to tell her what she already knew, although, being slow, she hadn't figured it out until after she had left Seattle, which would have been two days ago.

And now he was here.

Mark Sloan was leaning up against the door to her hotel room, peering in through the peephole, and she didn't know whether to be relieved, laugh or cry.


	2. Chapter 2

He sat on the edge of the bed as Addison paced, twisting her hands in front of her nervously. She wished that she had been wearing her glasses because that would have made her fidgeting and anxiousness seem less unusual.

He was watching her, trying to hide his amusement at her evident discomfort. His overall demeanor only served to make her more flustered. He was just…so very Mark.

Past experience told her that he would want to know about the child. He would want her to have the baby…but then what? He wasn't going to barbecue or play catch. He was Mark! Addison would probably be stuck at home, raising the baby.

Although, wasn't that why she had come out here in the first place? She was visiting a friend who was a fertility specialist—she had been planning on having a baby all on her own, with the help of a sperm donor—she was settling for part of the picture.

So why, then, did she feel obligated to tell him? Just because he was the father didn't mean that he had to know. She shouldn't have to settle and be with him just because he is the biological father. She and her child would to just fine on their own.

But, with Mark, it wouldn't be settling. It would just be setting herself up for heartbreak. Mark was the only person (other than Derek) who had the power to break her—and he had, more than once. Something _was_ always wrong with them.

The fairytales all advocate true love, despite the obstacles—because love can overcome. Things just didn't work out like that in real life.

"I heard you wanted to have a baby." Mark stated coolly, waiting for her reaction.

Addison's heart started beating faster. She froze. How had he known that? She hadn't told anyone—not even the Chief. He responded to the quizzical look on her face.

"How did I know, right? You drove out to LA. If you had been coming here for work, you would have flown, I know you. Also, the only reason you would ever come out here is to see Naomi. In New York you told me you were thinking about it, remember? You wanted to get Derek to see you, and you thought that having a baby was the solution."

Addison stared at him, dumbfounded. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, speechless. He continued.

"You shouldn't have aborted our baby."

There it was—the solar plexus blow she had known was coming from the moment that she saw him, and she realized the only reason her abortion could still hurt her was regret. Unconsciously, she raised her hand to her stomach, tears prickling the backs of her eyes.

"I know."


	3. Chapter 3

"Why are you here?" she inquired, handing him a small bottle of alcohol from the room's mini-bar, "because if you came to be petty and cruel, you might as well leave now."

"Look, Addison…I'm sorry about what I said before. That wasn't how I wanted it to go. I really just came out here to make sure you were okay—you left so abruptly. I know that you're not okay."

"You could have called. You didn't have to come out here."

"I wanted to. And besides, everyone was worried about you. Richard thought it was my fault…and he kept glaring at me…"

"So you want me to call him and make it better?" she asked venomously.

"Damn it, Addison!" he growled, slamming his hands down into his thighs. "That's not it and you know it. Let me finish." She sighed heavily.

"Okay, fine. So he was glaring at you." Mark deflated somewhat.

"Addie, was it my fault? Was it because I…?" She took in his defeated appearance and her anger automatically melted away. She tilted his head up so she could look him in the eye. The devastation that she found there was heartbreaking.

"Oh, Mark…I know you didn't…" she looked away as tears started to cloud her vision. She cleared her throat. "No. It's not your fault. I'm just really screwed up right now, and I needed to get away." She pushed the emotion out of her eyes and looked him directly in the eye, offering a small smile.

"So about this baby thing…"


	4. Chapter 4

"_So about this baby thing…"_

"There's nothing really to talk about. I just…a man does not seem to be in the cards for me. I just…I need it. I need a child—I need a reason to wake up in the morning, and things to look forward to." He shifted awkwardly.

"I don't think that a baby is the answer."

"Well, you wouldn't really know now, would you?" she scoffed.

"Addison, you're running. Things are hard, and you're scared, so you're settling." She cleared her throat.

"I don't really think that is any of your business…" Inwardly, she cursed herself, knowing that she was lying and we would be pissed when he found out the truth. She also knew that if anyone could read her, it was Mark. Mark looked her up and down slowly, taking in her appearance. Her hand was resting on her stomach, her face glowing slightly. He also noted the absence of a wineglass in her hand. He narrowed his eyes.

"You're pregnant." Her breath hitched in her throat.

"Wh—what?" she sputtered. He glared, and she sighed. "I should have known you would figure it out."

"How long?" She squirmed uncomfortably. "Addison, how long?" he demanded.

"About seven weeks," She could see the rage building on his face, so she spoke quickly before he got started, knowing that otherwise it could be a while before she got a word in, "It's yours." The look on his face softened slightly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know for sure until a couple days ago," she cowered under his intense glare, "I didn't want to…I just thought it was stress…you know how much of a dunce I am when it comes to my own body, Mark." He sighed, shaking his head. He got up and started pacing.

"Why didn't you call me?"

"Would you have wanted to find out like that?"

"It's better than not knowing at all!"

"I'm sorry, Mark…"

"But you don't want to have a baby with me? Is that it, Addison?" he snarled, using her words against her. She shook her head, tears pouring from her eyes uncontrollably. "Well then what was it?"

"I was just…scared. I needed time to process…and figure out what to do."

"You should have told me, Addison! Jesus, when will you learn?" he asked, slamming his hand against the table in the room.

"I…I…" she mumbled, frightened at his force and intensity, practically paralyzed and at a loss for words.

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**A/N: **Sorry the update took so long. Please R&R! 


	5. Chapter 5

Addison cowered as Mark continued his furious tirade throughout the hotel room. Somewhere in the back of her mind she thought that he would never hurt her, but she had never seen him this angry before, this out of control—which was frightening given that she had known him for over a decade.

Mark had her cornered and slammed his fist into the wall beside her when he finally realized what this was doing to her. Her entire body was convulsing, and her hands were raised in front of her face in a futile attempt to protect herself. He had come really close to hitting the only woman that he had ever loved when all he had really wanted to do was hold her. He had been concerned about her, so he had come all the way out to California—he had followed her again. He didn't want to hurt her. The last thing that he had wanted was to be his father—or worse, her father. Oh God, what was he doing? She must have been utterly terrified.

"Addison, I am so sorry…" he said, his demeanor softening as he reached out a hand to help her up from where she was sitting on the floor. She blinked, confused, not knowing what to expect from him. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out but a small whimper. "Ad, you know I didn't mean to do that, right?" Her second attempt to speak was worse than the first—resulting in vomit on Mark's shoes. He grimaced, but his focus remained on her. "Addison?" She managed to regain her composure and her eyes were shooting venom.

"Mark, please leave."

"Addison…"

"LEAVE! NOW!" she bellowed, holding back sobs that threatened to burst out of her control.

"Fine! You really want me gone? Fine. Don't expect me to come back." He stormed out the door, slamming it as hard as he could manage. She slid back down to the ground, letting out the sobs she had been holding back. "_Oh god, what have I done?_" Her heart felt shattered into a million pieces. There was a sharp pain that had taken up residence in her chest and she seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. Even though she had been deathly afraid of Mark not twenty minutes ago, the last thing she had wanted was to lose him again.

Well, okay, so maybe she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to be with Mark. She hated that she and Mark were incapable of having sane, normal conversations with one another. It always resulted in one or the other yelling followed by one or the other doing something drastic or walking out. When he had shown up at her hotel room door, she had been hopeful. She had thought that maybe they could really talk like adults, to maybe figure out a way to make their relationship work. Or something. Honestly, she wasn't really sure what she wanted. Simply put, she had wanted Mark, and that was all that she was sure of. Now she had no idea where he was or if he would talk to her again, much less come back.

Mark paced the halls of the hotel, unable to comprehend what had just occurred. He hated himself for what he had done to her. He had vowed to himself that he would never hurt or frighten the woman that he loved that way. He never wanted to use violent physical force when it came to a woman (or his potential children), and though he hadn't actually hurt her, Addison knew exactly what it was like to live with an abusive man. The fact that he had reignited that fear within her, that he had brought back all of those horrible and paralyzing memories was more than he could bear. Eventually he headed down to the hotel bar, trying to drink himself into oblivion.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** This is a little longer, and there's some intense drama here...I hope you like it! Please review :)

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After being kicked out of the hotel bar, a thoroughly drunk Mark returned to Addison's hotel room that night. He pounded on the door with all of his strength, screaming for her to let him in. Addison, who had fallen asleep in exactly the spot that he had left her in, awoke with a pounding headache to the sound of him banging on the door and screaming. She groaned and felt a mysterious urge to cry, despite the fact that there were no tears left. She felt dehydrated and her limbs seemed to be leaden when she tried to move.

Addison briefly glanced at the spot in the carpet where she had vomited and grimaced, her stomach churning as she bolted for the bathroom, not quite making it in time. Once she had rinsed out her mouth, she collapsed onto the floor, exhausted, feeling even more dehydrated and almost hung over because of it.

Mark continued pounding on the door. Addison buried her head in her knees, pressing her hands to either ear.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" she screamed in the futile hope of getting him to shut up before being consumed by dry sobs and dry heaves. She had nothing left and had thoroughly made herself sick. When she woke up there, she realized that she must have dozed off again. Mark's ruckus had since ceased. She figured that he must have left again.

Slowly, she attempted to hoist herself up, using the sink as a support. The simple action felt far more difficult than it should have, and briefly she was concerned about the welfare of the child that she was carrying. The thought had only just entered her mind as she released the sink with both hands, clutching the area where she knew the baby was, as she was overcome with blinding pain. This movement threw her off balance. Addison felt a shooting pain in her head and the next thing she saw was darkness.

Mark looked down at the vomit on his shoes, sighing. He stopped being such a rowdy drunk after his hands and vocal cords started to hurt, not to mention the dirty glares that he was receiving. He was sobered by his thoughts. He had started drinking to forget what he had done, but no amount of alcohol was capable of doing that for him.

As soon as Mark heard the dull thud of Addison's body fall to the ground, even in this semi-inebriated state, he knew that he somehow needed to get into that room. It was as if his life depended on it. The macho thing to do would have been to break the door down, but not only did Mark suddenly doubt his ability to do just that, he also knew that the alternatives to breaking the door down would probably be quicker.

Without so much as a second thought, Mark dialed 911. He knew that it was probably ludicrous that he was reporting something that he hadn't seen, but he was certain that she needed medical attention. There was no mistaking the sound of a body hitting the ground—he was relatively sure of at least that much, although he supposed he could have just been panicking. However, when it came to Addison, he didn't want to take any chances. Especially not when she was carrying his baby. If something happened to either one of them, he would never be able to forgive himself, especially if something happened to her. He was almost certain that he would never love another woman. As proof of that he would cite the fact that he had broken up his best friend's marriage, probably losing forever the one friendship that he had been able to depend on throughout his lifetime, because he was in love with her. He would also cite the fact that he let her marry his best friend when it was apparent that was what she wanted, instead of complicating things by telling her how he really felt about her. He had been selfless and provided an out from the sixty day deal that they had made once it was evident that she had wanted Alex Karev more than she had wanted him. He loved her enough that he had wanted to hit Karev after he had found out what he had done to her, but loved her enough to refrain, because that was what she would have wanted. Hell, he loved her enough to chase her across the country twice!

After he had told the responder about the situation had urged them to hurry, he ran down the main desk, and after charming the girl behind the desk, managed to get a key to her room. He ran back up the stairs faster than he had ever run in his life, quickly slipping the key into the lock and easily sliding the door open.

Going into the room, he hadn't known what to expect, but nothing could have prepared him for the emotional reaction that he had to seeing Addison lying in a pool of blood. Slipping into doctor mode, he detected a slight pulse and faint signs of respiration. At first glance he had only detected the blood pooling by her head, but after a more thorough inspection, his heart broke as he discovered the blood between her legs. He wasn't sure if his heart broke more for her or for himself. He knew that medically there was nothing that could be done for a child that small and defenseless. He didn't know if they would be strong enough to form a relationship in the wake of this tragedy, or if she would even want to see him again. She would probably blame him for this, assuming that she made it through this. He blamed himself for the fact that this happened—he should have just called. Coming out here had been a mistake, and because of that mistake, he could potentially be losing everything that mattered to him.


	7. Chapter 7

The entire ride to the hospital was hell for Mark. Once the doctors had taken over her had allowed himself to fall into the role of concerned…whatever he was to her. Everything was a blur of movement and flashing lights, and he was unable to process what was happening. He tried as hard as he could to keep his mind logical and go through the medical steps that needed to be taken in order to ensure Addison's safety, but all he could do was worry about her. If anything happened to Addison, he didn't know what he would do with himself. He probably wouldn't be able to survive losing her. He was upset about the baby as well, but for the most part, the only reason that it even registered in his mind was that Addison wanted to have a child so badly. He wished that he had told her that he loved her before this happened, that he hadn't scared her and caused her grief. He couldn't help but think that this miscarriage was entirely his fault. She would never forgive him.

When Addison awoke, her entire body ached and she generally felt like crap. She wasn't certain of where she was, but she recognized her surroundings and the unmistakable smell of the hospital, memories came rushing back and she began to panic. She tried to move her hands to her stomach, which was when she realized that her right hand was clasped tightly in Mark's, despite the fact that he had fallen asleep. She slapped him with her free arm, wincing in pain at the sudden twisting movement of her mid-section. She bit her lower lip and blinked rapidly to keep tears of pain from falling.

Mark awoke with a start to the sudden pain in his left arm. He hadn't known that he had dozed off until she woke him up. He looked at her cautiously, uncertain as to if a doctor had come in to tell her anything or how pissed she was at him.

"Would you mind letting me have the circulation to my fingers back?" she growled, at which point Mark realized that he was still holding her hand. He quickly let her hand go and she pulled back as if she had been burned. The pair looked at each other wordlessly for several moments, neither entirely sure what to say. Finally, Mark broke the silence.

"Listen, Addison, I know this isn't what you want to hear right now, but I have to say it. I am so sorry about everything that happened earlier. I…I didn't mean for it to happen like that. The only reason that I came out here was that I care about you and I was worried about you. I didn't want to hurt you, and I'm not angry with you. The last thing that I wanted to do was scare you."

Addison regarded Mark with glassy eyes. She believed that he hadn't wanted to hurt her, but if his rage was that uncontrollable, she had no idea what he was capable of. A tear fell from her right eye, and she swiped at it furiously, jarring the IV in her arm, which caused her to grimace. She tried to speak, but her throat was dry and the words seemed lost in her throat. She lay there, open-mouthed, not knowing what to say. She cleared her throat and decided to change the topic.

"Mark…the baby…what happened?" she asked hoarsely, terror evident on her face. The moment that his eyes met hers, she knew. She moved away from him, horrified, disbelieving. She had known that the mortality rate of a baby whose mother was her age was significantly increased, but she had never thought that this would happen. She had kept this child partially because she thought that it could be her last chance, but she had never considered what would happen if she lost this baby.

Addison's grief was inconsolable, and Mark wished that there were something more that he could do. As he watched the woman that he loved falling to pieces and sobbing harder than he had ever witnessed, his heart shattered completely. He figured that since he had caused all of this, the best thing that he could do was to leave her alone. He stood up and began to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" she asked, panicked, through body-wracking sobs, the prospect of his absence causing the pain and pressure on her chest to increase so much that she practically began to choke. He turned around hesitantly.

"I thought you would want me to leave. I haven't done anything but cause problems for you." She sat up quickly, regretting the decision immediately as she sharply drew in a breath. He saw the fear in her eyes and was instantly by her side again, awkwardly patting her shoulder as she sobbed. She reached out for his hand and clamped her own onto it as though her life depended on it. He couldn't feel his fingers, but in that moment, he couldn't have cared less. She needed him and that was all that mattered.

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**A/N:** Okay, so, admittedly, this is not the best chapter I have ever written, but I hope it was okay :) I'm not entirely certain where this fic is going. If you have any input, do not be afraid to let me know. Also, please review-- you guys have been great to me so far! I'll try to update soon, because I will be away next week with no internet :( 


	8. Chapter 8

a/n: sorry I haven't updated in such a long time-- I have been insanely busy and whatnot-- but I really hope that you like the update. Reviews would be fantastic and most likely speed my next posting! I really hope that you are still interested in reading this story :)

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Unsurprisingly, Mark found himself in the small hospital bed with Addison that night. She had lost the one thing that she had firmly known that she loved and cared about, and there was nothing that anyone could do to change that fact. He held her as close as he could without irritating the incision or preventing her from breathing. Her body was pressed up hard against his, resulting in him being pressed up against the uncomfortable railing on the side of the bed, but he couldn't have cared less. He needed to be here for Addison, regardless of how he himself felt about everything that was going on.

Mark was absolutely heartbroken. This was the second time that a child conceived by himself and the love of his life had died, but this time was so much worse. It was been completely unexpected on both his part and her own. She had actually wanted to keep this child and had a lot invested in it—so many of her hopes and dreams. Not to mention the fact that this time the miscarriage was likely his own fault. He knew that Addison was prone to panic and anxiety attacks, and his violent outburst was something that not only was completely terrifying for her but was one of the triggers of hers that he was very well aware of. Not only had they spent many nights commiserating over how difficult it was to grow up with an abusive parent, but he had also seen her set off by this particular trigger on numerous occasions. If his outburst were the reason that their baby had died, he would never be able to forgive himself. It was beginning to feel like a bad omen. Maybe she was right—maybe there was always something wrong between the two of them. Still, so long as she wanted him (or needed him) to be around, there was no way that he was going to leave her, because whether or not things would ever work out between the two of them, she was the only woman that he had ever been able to love, and the only person aside from Derek's father who made him want to be a better man and think that he even had the potential to do so. Even more heartbreaking than the deaths of his two (and only, to his knowledge) children was the fact that he had literally watched Addison's heart break over the loss of this child. He had had to watch her heart break so many times in the past, but this was by far the worst. He knew what the fertility statistics were like for women of her age—not that she was old (he was still in denial about his looming 40th birthday) and he was aware of the fact that there was a chance that she would not be able to get pregnant again. Granted, he knew that there were exceptions to the rule—the fifty year old women who gave birth with no complications—but being a surgeon and having spent so much time with Addison over the years, he knew how truly rare that was. Not to mention that Addison was the best in the field and if anything should go wrong, there was certainly no way that she would able to operate on herself.

He did not want to make any assumptions about her fertility status, but he liked to be realistic (or, what normal people would refer to as "pessimistic"). He liked to be prepared for the worse because Mark Sloan was not a person who did well with disappointment. Fortunately, there hadn't been much damage done by the miscarriage, at least nothing that was irreparable. From looking at her chart, it didn't look like she should have any problem conceiving again, but he knew that there were a lot of factors that went into determining fertility potential. He didn't want to jump to any conclusions, and he desperately needed to stop thinking about how potentially devastating this miscarriage could potentially be for both of them. He knew that Addison had been exhausted and would likely sleep for a while longer, and he was about move extricate himself from the bed and the tangle of his limbs to aimlessly wander the halls when it occurred to him that he should probably let Naomi know what was going on.

Mark had found out the day before that Addison still had yet to change her contact person from Derek to anyone else (he had her medical history sent over from SGH as he had needed to so something to keep himself occupied while she was in surgery. The staff begrudgingly allowed him access to the phone and fax machine). He figured that it must have just slipped her mind—last he had checked, she still hadn't switched her PCP or GYN from the ones in New York. That would have been the first thing that the old Addison did after finalizing the divorce and casting the rings into a large body of water, but small things like that had been slipping her mind right and left ever since Derek left her in New York. Mark was sure that the hospital had contacted him—it was standard policy—but he was not sure whether or not he would bother to come down, so he figured that he should probably call Derek as well.

Mark very delicately disentangled himself from the mess that was their eight long limbs and pulled her cell phone out of his own coat pocket, having grabbed it before leaving the hotel the night before. Let it never be said that Mark does not think ahead—when under pressure, Mark dealt extraordinarily well—at least when there was physical danger involved. Matters of the heart were another story. He scrolled through the contacts on the phone, deciding on Naomi first—he could deal with his ex-best friend later. He also wasn't sure whether or not it would be beneficial for anyone to bring him out there. Derek could have been dealing with this news in one of two ways: he would either call her 'Satan' under his breath and pretend everything was fine, or he would have hopped on one of the next available flights from SeaTac to LAX-- after having cleared the board. He was Derek, after all. Mark sighed, glancing at this watch as the phone rang. It was actually close to being a reasonable hour, but Nae would likely not be excited about hearing his voice nonetheless.

"Addison, you better have a damn good reason for calling me so early in the morning or so help me--" Mark knew that he better act fast or she could ramble on for quite a while,

"Nae, it's me, Mark."

"Why do you have Addison's phone? What did you do to her?"

"Naomi, Addison's in the hospital. She had a miscarriage." He heard Naomi gasp,

"Oh my God. I'll be over there as soon as possible. Saint Ambrose?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. And Mark? I'm glad you're there."

"Me too." He hung up the phone, irritated that everyone always assumed that he was a menace, but glad that at least she had admitted her gratitude. He glanced at Addison who was still sleeping peacefully—that woman could sleep through anything—before deciding to go out into the hallway to use the phone in case some sort of argument started. Logically one shouldn't, but with Derek, one simply never knew.

"Derek Shepherd," came the exhausted answer. He had obviously not checked the caller ID before answering.

"Hey Derek, it's Mark."

"Mark, where the hell are you? I tried to call you for hours. Hours! Something--" Mark winced at the irritation, and also the realization that he had let his phone battery die.

"Happened to Addie. Yeah, I know, I was with her. What did they tell you?"

"Almost nothing. She had been admitted into the hospital and was in surgery. You're in LA?"

"Yeah, yeah long story. She collapsed last night—probably the result of an anxiety attack…"

"There's something you're not telling me."

"Are you going to come down?"

"Mark…"

"Derek, she was pregnant."

"Okay…"

"It was mine." There was a long silence that followed, and Mark was almost afraid that he had hung up.

"I'm in LA. My flight landed about fifteen minutes ago. I should be there soon." His voice was unreadable and almost devoid of emotion.

"Derek…"

"I'll see you soon, Mark." Mark sighed as the dial tone filled his ears. He went back into the room and sat in a chair by her side. Almost as soon as he sat down, he noticed the tell-tale signs that she was slowly rousing. She spun around quickly, wincing, when she realized that Mark was no longer in the bed with her. She relaxed considerably when she saw him there.

"Hey, Add. How are you feeling?" She glared at him evilly. "Okay, dumb question—but comparatively speaking." She sighed,

"I'm okay, you know, considering…and also very drugged up." Mark looked down at the floor, scuffing at the tile with his shoe,

"What…happened? It wasn't because…" She could tell that he was absolutely terrified, and to be honest, she doesn't exactly remember herself what happened.

"I…I must have been dehydrated. It wasn't your fault…I was upset."

"It was my fault. I upset you—I scared you and I am so sorry…" There were tears in his eyes and one of them actually managed to escape. She gently wiped it away.

"You had every right to be upset…and I knew that you would never hurt me. It was completely irrational…"

"But I still caused this. I upset you," a few more tears made their way down his face and her heart broke.

"No, no it was my fault. I thought that you were leaving me for good. I thought that I had pushed you too far away, and that was what set me off. It wasn't your fault."

"You sure?" She nodded affirmatively and reached out for one of his hands, gripping it tightly. They both heard the ruckus known as Naomi and Sam coming down the hallway at a mighty speed. Addison glared and mouthed,

"You told them?" He nodded and whispered,

"I had to call her—she's your best friend." Addison rolled her eyes, and then he continued at a normal volume, "Oh, and Derek is on his way." She looked at him questioningly and he responded, "Hey, it's not my fault you never changed your emergency contact!" She smacked his arm with her free hand.

"Smartass." He shrugged, grinning sheepishly just as Sam and Naomi burst through the door. Mark moved out of the way so that Naomi could fuss over Addison and hung back a little with Sam.

Addison was not excited at the prospect of having to put up with Naomi right now. She hadn't told Naomi, exactly, that Mark was the father of her child…nor did she know that the man-whore was even in L.A. (though in Addison's defense, neither had she).

"Oh my God, Addison! How did this happen?"

"I had a panic attack…or several…and I got dehydrated and collapsed."

"Why didn't that fool help you? He's usually so good at looking after you."

"I…told him to leave. And then…I kind of locked him out." Naomi rolled her eyes.

"What? Why? What were you thinking?"

"Nae…"

"No, seriously."

"Because…you know how we are. It's always zero to sixty with us. And there was a lot of baggage…and…somewhat ironically, I was panicked because I thought that I had driven him away. Stupid, huh?" Naomi fought the urge to agree.

"Not…stupid…just…"

"Don't lie."

"Okay, yes, stupid. Or maybe crazy. Regardless, it was very you, and ultimately, what happened happened. We can't change that. I'm just glad that you are okay…" she said, flipping through Addison's chart, "which you definitely are."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Sam was not so discreetly giving Mark the evil eye. After several minutes of this behavior Mark finally spoke.

"What?" Sam looked surprised that Mark was addressing him.

"What?"

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because…you're you."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning that I still have not forgiven you for what you did and continue to do to Addison, and I don't know what you did last night, but…" By this point Addison and Naomi had finished their own conversation and Addison piped in,

"Sam, that's enough. The only thing he did last night was save my life, so enough." Sam sighed, slumping considerably, thus dwarfing him even further beside the large man-whore. Mark grinned in satisfaction. Naomi stood up from the chair, looking at her watch,

"Well, Sam and I ought to get going—unless you want us to stay—and you know that we are just a phone call away, but we really should get over to the practice." Addison gestured to the door, indicating that they should leave,

"Scoot, get a move on, then! Pete, Vi and Cooper are even more childlike than Dell! Who knows what will happen if you don't get in on time!" she said, laughing slightly. Both Sam and Naomi rolled their eyes before saying goodbye and promising to call later.


End file.
